Optimism about the economy has increased under President Barack Obama, offering an advantage to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in her campaign for the presidency in 2016, said The Washington Post.

New Gallup polling indicates that for the first time during Obama's presidency a majority of Americans, 52 percent, say that their financial situation is getting better, compared to 33 percent who say it's getting worse; that's the highest margin since the president took office and as good or better than it was in the last decade.

A Bloomberg poll released this week also showed that for the first time in five years more people say Obama is doing a good job on the economy than say he's doing a bad one at 49 percent compared to 46 percent.

"The timing couldn't really be better for Hillary Rodham Clinton," the Post said, given that the performance of the economy is often the most important determinant of the way people vote.

"Winning the presidency after a two-term president of your own party is, as we've noted, difficult. But the trajectory of views of the economy is on an unmistakable path, and the long economic lull that so often colored views of Obama's presidency can make the recovery seem that much more evident," the Post said.

"To the extent that people view the economy as headed in the right direction come fall of 2016, it certainly accrues to Clinton's benefit. Because to one degree or another, she'll be tied to Obama. And the president, in large part, owns the economy."

Optimism about the economy has increased under President Barack Obama, offering an advantage to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in her campaign for the presidency in 2016, said The Washington Post.